We were able to catch one fairly quickly and hop aboard along with several locals. More stops were made to pick up additional locals along the way as well. The ride to town was approximately 10 minutes and cost 35 Quetzales for the five of us (just under $5 total).
Right as we got out of the van, we ran into Clive, who had come to town on an earlier van to buy a few items. We immediately grabbed him and appointed him our guide, since he'd been here before and spoke Spanish, an excellent and handy combination.
We were the only customers in the restaurant, but we were still a little early for lunch (i.e., before noon). We sat down and ordered beverages and were a bit surprised to see the young waitress leave the restaurant to go purchase them. At the time, we didn't really think too much of it, since this was a different country, and we weren't really sure what was "normal". We enjoyed the great view and good conversation while she was gone. |
We first ordered drinks from their extensive menu. Barry and several others ordered mojitos, but I saw a Caipirinha on the menu and remembered that it had been recommended by Rebecca on her SanPedroScoop blog, so I had to try one (and it was so good, I ended up having another!) This is now my new favorite drink, but since it requires a special kind of rum that is not widely available in Belize, who knows when I will find one again. Since it's the national drink of Brazil, I guess we'll just have to visit there one day -- hopefully when our Spanish is a bit better! We had Mexican food on the brain since our first attempt at lunch was foiled, so Barry and I both ordered the chicken quesadillas with black beans and fresh salsa. By this time, it was getting close to 1pm, and considering that we had eaten breakfast before 7, we were starved. The food couldn't have been more tasty. |
The sundress incident.
Ruthie encouraged me to ask how much it was, saying that it would look great on me, so I finally asked the lady how much it was. "Veinticinco quetzales" (25 Q) was her reply. I knew this was a really low price, under $4, so I ran back over to where Barry was standing to get some money from him. When I got back to the shop, I immediately handed the lady the 25 Q, before Ruthie could say "Wait!" Turns out, she had already given 20 Q to the young man also working there, and was looking for the other 5 Q in her wallet. Now we had a problem. We'd overpaid, and they would not return Ruthie's money! Of course, the language barrier was a bit of an issue, but we knew that they knew that we'd overpaid. They kept pointing at the other clothing hanging up, indicating, I suppose, that Ruthie could pick another item. But our money had disappeared into their pockets, and they just smiled when we tried to explain (in English) that she should be given her money back since I had paid in full.
Turns out that Ruthie was trying to buy me the dress as a gift, which was super sweet of her, but because we didn't communicate, we got burned. The amount lost was less than $3 US, truly insignificant in the big picture, and Ruthie was quick to forget it, but I was angry because of the principle of the thing. But there you have it: a lesson learned; fortunately, not an expensive one. It would have been much worse if the little boy hadn't brought Ruthie her forgotten camera that morning, so putting it into perspective, it really wasn't a big deal, it just offended my sense of fairness. |
Back at the boat yard, s/v Hope was at anchor. The transducer had already been repaired on the hard, and she'd been put back into the water. After picking us up in the dinghy, Simon told us he'd had a problem with one of the engines after they splashed the boat, but they were able to find the appropriate part and get it fixed quickly, so we were still on schedule for a Tuesday morning departure. I am sure he and Clive were really relieved, but the rest of us probably wouldn't have minded another day aboard. We were having fun!
Stay tuned for Guatemala Cruise Day 4: The sea was angry that day, my friends